Dynamite is an Option
by Ysavvryl
Summary: Well yes, but it's not always a smart option.


**Dynamite is an Option**

A devastated landscape lay before her. Dozens of shallow holes dotted the plains below this mountain. Grass grew in some, water had filled others. However, they were all of similar shapes. Few larger plants remained, mostly a floating leafy mass over one of the largest pits. Jagged blocks of former buildings were scattered about. Had this been a town? It seemed too disorganized for that. The one remaining building was damaged with a hole in the side; a red-haired man was busily patching it up.

"This looks like a Creeper war zone," Sarah said. If that was so, she didn't want to stick around. But she still wanted to investigate the materials on this island in case there was something she needed. She hopped down the steep slope, careful to avoid a large indent into the mountain. Once she got closer to the man, she waved a greeting. "Hello!"

Jumping at being startled, he turned and nearly got something from his bag. Then he saw her, realized she was a normal human, and smiled. "Oh, hello there! Are you another adventurer? I haven't run into anybody since I left my hometown."

"Yes, I'm Sarah; I'm traveling around to find a new spot to set up a base."

"It's just plain Sarah?" he asked, somehow disappointed.

"Yes, what about it?" she asked, finding it odd.

He rubbed his head. "Well an adventurer ought to have an adventurous name, you know? Like me! I'm Dyna Will!"

Sarah raised an eyebrow at that. "Dyna Will?"

"Yeah, because it's not dyna-might, but Dyna Will! I'm something of an explosives enthusiast, you could say." He grinned proudly at his own introduction.

"Is that why this area is full of holes?" she asked. "I thought there might be a high Creeper population here."

"Not really, although some of the more impressive holes are from when I've blasted them," Will said, like it was a fond memory. "Oh, and if you think these holes are impressive, you ought to see the one just over that rise! I'm blasting a hole straight through the world!"

Will was definitely a strange person. Then again, most people found any adventurer to be a strange person. The towns were mostly safe from monsters and any sensible person would stay in a populated area like that. "What happens when you hit bedrock? You can't blast those blocks."

"I'll figure something out. It's always the enthusiasts who find new ways to do the impossible. Like my air tree! Like it?"

"I've done something like that before," Sarah said, looking up at it. "You build up a tower of dirt and concrete, right? Then plant the sapling on top and bash out the lower part of the dirt."

"That's how you're supposed to do it?" Will asked in surprise. "I had put some dirt up in the tree thinking I could make a tree house. Then I blew up the big tree for more wood. It's been floating up there ever since."

"Don't you lose more wood with dynamite than an axe?"

"Do you?" He shrugged. "I do get short on wood, but I usually find enough. Would it help to have a floating forest?"

"It could help keep the trees from the explosions, but you'd need a way to get up there to chop them down with an axe," Sarah said.

"Wow, you're pretty smart," Will said, not seeming sarcastic about it.

"How long have you out on your own?" she asked. He couldn't have been an adventurer for long if he didn't know a few basic things.

"About a month," he said. Given all the craters around here, that was almost impressive. "You think you can help me with something else? It's a problem I haven't figured out, as you might see."

"Sure, what do you need?" Sarah had another adventurer help her out at the start, so she liked to pass the favor forward.

Will pointed to the repair job he was doing. "I need someplace to store my dynamite that'll hold up to accidental explosions. I inherited a magical creative chest that spawns a lot of dynamite every day, but of course it stops after it gets full. When it does, I need somewhere to put it. Is there anything that's explosion proof?"

"They shouldn't explode in a chest," she said. "But if you want an explosion proof storehouse, obsidian is your best material. You need a diamond pickaxe, then you can drop water onto a lava source to make a lot of obsidian."

"A pickaxe? I usually mine with dynamite."

What did he not do with dynamite? But then if he had a creative chest that supplied him with endless dynamite, it would be a reasonable utility. Sarah had always been limited to what explosive blocks she could carefully take out of traps. "I guess that works, but you can get a lot more done if you have many options on how to do things. We can start you with an iron pickaxe to get the diamonds."

"Does iron ore work for that?" Will asked, rubbing his head. "I've got a lot of that stockpiled too from blast mining."

"Do you have a furnace?" she asked back. When he shook his head, she could see that this would be a long learning process. "Well let's get you some of these basics, it's not hard."

* * *

"Woohoo, we're smelting, smelting!" Will sang happily, spinning around with some iron bars in hand.

It was only one furnace so far, placed outside his blast mine. When she'd been preparing for this trek, she'd used three furnaces in a stack to build a good supply of tools and materials. If Will meant to stay around here and build up his island, he could use many more furnaces.

"So do we need to do some voodoo mumbo jumbo in order to make tools with good traits?" he asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Just basic crafting for now. You might want an enchanting table eventually to get tools that last longer or work better. But you need obsidian for that, plus paper for books to boost your enchanting skill."

"Wow, there's so much we need to build if we don't just blast everything," he said. "Blasting is easy."

"Most adventurers don't have an endless supply of dynamite to work with," she pointed out.

* * *

"Here's a good place," Sarah pointed out. They'd discovered a deep ravine in nearby caves. Torches lit the way they had come in; a pool of lava lit up the base of the ravine. "We've got an underground stream right by us, and the lava is spilling out that tall spire just below. The walls here need some mining out to make a good stairway to access the resulting obsidian."

"Okay, so all we gotta do is make a hole down on top of lava spring?" Will asked, pulling out one of his many blocks of TNT.

"W-wait a sec..." Sarah said in alarm. But he'd already lit it and was backing up. She hurried back to their path up to get out of range of the ensuing blast.

The water from the stream gushed down in a new waterfall, hitting the lava spire right at its source. The hiss of lava cooling down to obsidian could be heard even from their height. As the water spread, the warm glow of the lava blinked out. The clattering bones of a skeleton could be heard walking further ahead, coming to investigate the explosion.

"Ha ha, that was awesome!" Will said with a large grin on his face.

She hid her face in her palm. Patience, she needed to keep her patience. "In a way, it did do the job. But now it's going to be more treacherous making a safe path down in the dark."

"Adventurers can overcome any obstacle, no fear!" he said, not intimidated.

"Right, but it helps to have a little prudence."

* * *

"Hey, we've got a lot of gold now, so how about we make the weapons and tools out of that instead?" Will suggested eagerly. "They'd be nice and shiny then!"

"They would, but gold has a terrible durability for that purpose," Sarah said. "Diamonds are bound to be hard to find unless you strike a lucky vein, but they're the best you can get."

"I guess the diamond stuff would be shiny too," he admitted. "But they wouldn't be yellow."

Her attention was drawn from the conversation by a distinctive gurgling. "Watch out, we've got at least a couple Creepers approaching," she said, reaching for her trusty enchanted sword.

"No problem, I'm always prepared," Will said, pulling out yet another block of dynamite.

"But our workstation!" Sarah said, then ducked behind the furnace when he tossed it in the direction they heard the monsters.

It worked to destroy the mob that had been coming for them, but the chain reaction of Creeper explosions burst another lava chamber. Only a quickly-built wall of obsidian blocks kept the lava from flowing right for them. Will laughed at that. "Caves are such a thrill, aren't they?"

"I'd rather take my death-defying thrills in moderation," she said.

* * *

"Oo, maybe I should have a grand entrance to my dynamite vault," Will said, thinking over the footprint of the building they'd started.

"That could be trouble," Sarah said. "If you make the entrance just wide enough for one door, you're fine. But if the entrance gets two blocks wide, then you might get a Nether portal if you misplace a torch. It's the obsidian's innate magic, I believe."

"Ooo, what's the Nether?" he asked, looking at her with his usual intense curiosity.

"A big fiery wasteland of lava fields and huge monster fortresses," she explained. "The monsters there are very powerful. There's some great materials to be had if you can survive fighting them and mining in harsh conditions."

"Wow, that sounds really awesome," Will said, clapping his hands together. "But I should make the vault first so I have a massive supply of dynamite before going there."

"You could just go with swords and bows, that's how I made my forays in the Nether," she said. He was getting good at the skills an independent adventurer needed, but was still overly reliant on dynamite.

"But I'm Dyna Will, and explosions are fun!"

"Yes, but dynamite's not the best option for everything."

* * *

The final vault structure he'd settled on was impressive, Sarah admitted. It was a black igloo of obsidian, a huge dome that could be filled with a devastating amount of dynamite. Up top, Will was currently adding in some spiked towers made with structures he'd taken from the Nether. There was also a pair of torches sitting in jutting out arches, making the whole thing look like a crowned skull from some angles.

"He's not evil enough for this kind of motif," Sarah thought aloud. "But any other adventurers who come by here and see it will know they're dealing with a special nut."

Once he was done with the crown, Will hopped down to admire it with her. "Man, this is the best vault ever, I bet! And I couldn't have done it without you, Sarah, thanks for everything."

"It's no trouble," she said with a smile. "You can pass the favor forward by helping other adventurers you come across; that way works out best."

He nodded. "Sure thing. But does that mean you're moving on again now?"

"Yes, I want to get back to my original voyage," Sarah said. "I'm searching for a special fortress that will have a portal to the End, where I can fight the Ender Dragon. It's my next big challenge, especially since I haven't met any others who have won a battle against that dragon."

"Well how about you look at my plans for a portable dynamite launcher I've been dreaming about?" he offered. "It'll let you throw dynamite way further than you can on your own, and dynamite can kill anything!"

"Maybe, but I think a bow and a large stock of arrows will be easier to handle," she said. "If that doesn't work, I might come back and ask about the launcher."

Will grinned. "Great, then I'll try out some prototypes! Oh, but I've been thinking, you know just about everything on anything and you're a selfless helper, so how about you start introducing yourself as Sagely Sarah? I think it fits you like a glove!"

"I wouldn't want to come across as vain," she said, although it was flattering. "Just plain Sarah works fine."

"Well I think you're worthy of being called a sage, so that's what I'm going tell people you are," Will said. "Good luck on your dragon hunt!"

He was kind enough to walk with her to the shore for a proper goodbye as she sailed off in search of the fortress.

* * *

It started with a tremble, then a quake. Then a powerful blast wave ripped through the ground below her and devoured everything. After a brief moment of shock, Sarah found herself in a vast inky emptiness. There were no blocks, no sky. No light save that for around her.

And one other, laughing like he'd just played the funniest prank. "Oh wow, that was the best blast ever! I don't know if I can top that!"

"Will?" Sarah asked, patting her side and finding it not as solid as normal. They had to be ghosts.

Beaming with pride, he spun around and ran over. "Hey, it's Sagely Sarah! Didja have a good view of that? It was so awesome!" He raised his arms and spun in celebration.

"Did..." for a moment, her mind didn't want to accept this. "Did you just blow up the whole world?"

"Seems like it," Will said, still celebrating. "I wasn't expecting that to happen! So awesome!"

"But you just killed everybody and everything on our world, including ourselves!" she said, grabbing his arm to try making him serious about it. "Why would you be happy about that?"

"Well not just anybody can make an explosion that big," he said, calming down but not enough to feel guilty about it.

"Why did you even do that, and how?" She thought the Ender Dragon was the one prophesied to end the world, not a dynamite-crazed adventurer. Maybe Will was more evil than she realized.

"I wanted to see what would happen when I blasted the core of the world," Will said, as if it were a normal think to wonder about. "See, I discovered that one thing can destroy obsidian blocks: living wither skulls. So I gathered a bunch of them in a big cannon to punch through the bedrock. I figured, if anything could do that, it'd be a bunch of wither skulls combining their attacks. It took a lot of training, but I got them to fire all at once."

"A cannon of wither skulls?" He was acting like a kid discovering a new game. If he acted more like a cackling mad sorcerer or something, Sarah wouldn't feel the hesitation she had now on fighting him.

Will nodded. "It was great! I called it my Death Star because it was great at destroying blocks and monsters, even Endermen. So I set it up in my big pit to the center of the world and got through the bedrock with its attacks. And you know what I dug into? The Nether! Which was real handy since I could make an enormous vine ladder to get in and out of that pit. And I kept blasting away, turning lava into obsidian to wall the pit so it didn't get filled up. Eventually I hit another layer of bedrock, and you know what was below that?"

"The End?" Sarah asked.

"Nope, it was a huge fiery ball that was surrounded by a sphere of bedrock. So it had to be the core of the world!" Will shrugged. "I wasn't sure what hitting the world's core with my Death Star mining vehicle, but I figured I'd try. And it was so worth it!" He even jumped in his excitement.

"Worth losing our whole world for?" she challenged, narrowing her eyes at him. Maybe he wasn't obviously evil, but he was too dangerous to be around. "I don't think so; there was so much more that I hadn't explored! So many innocent people have died because of your curiosity."

"But I did discover things that no one else had, even you," he said, not intimidated. Then something caught his eye overhead: shimmering bronze letters. "Hey, what's that?"

Sarah was about to scold him for getting distracted, but she got another surprise when she followed his gaze up. "Huh, 'Generate New World?' What's that about?"

"Oh hey, it's a new world with new things to blow up!" Will said eagerly, punching a fist in the air. "Yes, generate it!" He then vanished into white sparkles.

She'd lost so much; many great people had died. Were they given another chance like this? Sarah hoped it was so. Even though her head was still whirling at the thought of her world being destroyed by a curious dynamite-crazed weirdo, she didn't want to stick around this vast empty void forever. But also, "May I generate a world separate from the one Will has just asked for? I don't want to run into him again."

Fortunately, she never ran into him again. She came across many other weird and strange people in her adventures, but none as dangerous or extreme as Dyna Will. For that, she was grateful every day.

 _A/N: Yeah, that last section's not doable in the game. But there's a glitch that blows up any player the moment they spawn in, so I figure it's in the spirit of the game at least._


End file.
